Automatic door



Sept. 20, 1932. MORSE T AL 1,878,796

AUTOMATIC DOOR Filed Dec. 22, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN V EN TORS 4- fiankl fibrsc gyfogeri 71757156 ATTORNEY. I

F. L. MORSE ET AL 78,796

AUTOMATIC DOOR Sept. 20, 1932.

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 22. 1927 INVENT s flwfijl'farse BlZoZ'eri EEC arse ATTORNEY Sept. 20, 1932.

F. MORSE ET AL AUTOMATIC DOOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filefl Dec. 22. 1927 CIDDGDDDDDDDCIEIDD DDDEI EIDDCID DUEIDCIDDDDDEJDDDU INVENTORS 11707 56 Wan/(.5.

lQYorse A TTORNE Y.

Patented Sept. '20, I932 FRANK was}; v, on IIHAQYA, f' 411191 4219 P993 Application filed December 22, 1 9 27. Sepigl No, 241,835.

This invent cn elat is to ia utomafi n n sms for "operat ng garag dn s. er the u l ke Where i i s d o nt ilidi tan 19 l- M ny mechan sms "have been P179- p s d r ope ating garage .doers summatally, u theyshaveihen ngeneml eithe 7 a V s e A expensive, or difiiculttq Ship a-gqnnne rcia l i In? 1S lgfille 'a lly 1331 2 :0 9 product and install in the a yeliage gglgage, $1 $617M :xmddl ,Q h ld q n ni g or else have not been unmersgllygapplicghl e Mqnn J h I t the d eren ype ofd or qfqund .onwflfl- 4:1 1 1% yq itls s. abWiP 1s g ge Thepr mary abj cit-his in- 421s? 1 5E911 5%? ane s 4 en i n i to produce t-s mple and p ac ica the door ei s m chan sm dsesfiib drlafie i e w i w llo qm snmwith r t fl 4 k going difficulties. In particulgriti desmed to p c a m han sm whiqh m weas y manufactured and shipped, can jbe installed in he e age ga age w th a minimum :Q p d n w ich :to Qnsiderahk expe t mriou ype n can se th Same g up agm e ummers-9 ket'l so that it c an besecux ed to t w nienfi un ise w h v w thout. eneqerl x ii n g- 19f dq re er -u ed i g 2, the biaq ge lshdr l fihens neir lk tmeslinlii l and F 4 i h le s. e her ne Qf, re uct efi ear ng 1b ester 9 en t e f -4. d, vl nt n h p i fe re .t eted a Wa m-tyne at m emnleyedendsps l sedgix ianlbiltigh in c tt r shew 1ii17 ecti m Fi 9 Permi sm leilnb c tienwi ,ut n ldii F PPZIl 'aTlhi '1 l- Izi"Pra aqnxirt xes ii li 2 b lqw that h l qwniofig hek fly s wsee the may "O ifiellr fi 6 erm "h 20 of doors, thus ope nin market and p rmitting mqresefliqien :Pro-

duction. Another object 79f theinyention is to p yrthe powe ;!9116 efies .iwe yig th 0 p ar y with a .viewitm p ss n the @1001" wi h s slt snnne eflo et lt J e ture ng a much asihc d qrsfand 7Wi n: Q-H p new ge th fl e fl gara "QQFflfifiPi lubrimtei :WQ J h ka ny q l e to w thstan eavy sstn ss sfikp f fi weed the s fi rQ h WQFIi -WI QQJ me npaaent as th wi l llfbni a sth r i eh f A? Other objects will be 8Q ip ion tp jo-ceedsl m rdl s o ia i t t l anufuac ute p Referring new- 0 h dmw wwfii i 0 2m y i 91: f lf li a pl n View lofi he Qpen ti g meqhsnisms e stenw ssi y r i qbb f pp wu we swin ing @QlfirmEE-I .%P&@@ .Y, th eth he is a side e e at n heone r t' h. :ma s ecutt inel h ide -an .parsll. 33 nism of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a de i lggis gf Jghe gnd,,th e inQtOr c- Qn Of one of the ui e 31 mm in edl an an in linedf qeth hr qkg g- 418 r sssw iq q on iiqemt N w? hafi andjax. feel-wants driw- F s- 5 sajs mila ic ese se in f gl 131 11 ???1l =E g$ nd2, i oridei' t modified e Fig-fi inniete s; :Q th nth zeefl led Ibis I ith electric Wiring and cqntrgl gnecha; syn. wh i chprethe're' 7 i s ates the mechan sm as plie i snsiye p t belsta kedln d to sliding orrqllingdpors. )Fig.: -8-i l1g sjlfig8 the application to "fQlding dQQIf Referring s t Fig-". an J gt2, th W61 Wink? k motor mechanism which delivers Q to the rods that qpernte the dggpsg shqyxgn mo i 1 fnam ,Q' bye- 512st L lintel 90 0 the do -Q5 Kbhs i aabl 'ls 2., be n pr's wided et miws we h th The motor9 is of the in 5, the worm 8 is tor shaft 9, but isdriven 'and ina box on the bracket 1, and is connected "to'the worm 8 thru .a reduction gearing 21- fmechanism' as shownfniore in :6" which turns an arm 24 stantially in the position when the doors approach the dotted line positio'n I lfully't'closed, being operated by the arm 24 vided a combined end thrust cushion and friction brake 13 on the motor shaft, operating on the thrust faces of the worm 8, as shown in Fig. 4. In the simple form shown in Fig. 4 this consists of dished thrust washers 13 having a certain amount of spring, interposed between the thrust faces of the worm 8 and the fixed abutments l4.-- Underordinary conditions the thrust is central part of and friction are thrust the washer will flatten out, and there will be frictional contact over the entire surface out to therim, ing the worm quickly to a stop. More elaborate'equivalent forms may'of course be used, with the spring part separate from the br'ake parts. In another preferred form as shown not keyed to the incby, a friction clutch 15 which can slip under excessive load. By

so locating the slipping clutch the doors are positively held and looked,

just as thoughthe worm were keyed to the motor shaft, whereas if the'clutch were located say between the worm wheel 7 and vertical shaft 4, the" doors could be pulledopen against it.

reversible type, and suitable remote conmay be controlled any trol or'switch system adapted to start and stop the motor and reverseit at eachend of the travel ofthe doors, or at theend of a cerftain number of revolutions of'th'e motor.

In the form illustrated in Fig.1, Fig: 2, Fig. 6, the switch system is mounted and shaft 22' which operates the switch I i detail in Fig. The shaft 22 operates a worm gearing 23 thru an are as the doors go thru their tr avelf the switch trigger 26'being thrown for example gsubshown in solid lines when they approach swinging backward thru almost a complete .revolution during the travel of'the doors.

1 23'by' loosening the set-screw 27 When-the The arm 24 carries two contact pins 25 and 25, threaded for'fine adjustment, which operate the switch trigger'26,one ofthe pins operating'foriclosing and theoth'er for jopening. The coarse adjustment, is obtained by setting theflarm 24 relative to the worm gear trigger 26 is thrown from-one position to the other the motor 9 is stopped, as will be described, and connection'slare changed which Wl'll result 1n themotor 9 running in the oppositsdirection when it is again started. "The fgearing just described timesor countsthe revolutions of the motor between operations of the switch. 1

OI le illustrative form "of "switch taken .by. the the .washer, Where the radius. least but under excessive substantially thus bring-- fully open, and in adapted to be operated by the trigger 28 as above described is shown diagrammatically in Fig. 6. In the preferred form this is of the low voltage or relay type,that is, the

operating buttons or switches directly used by the operator of the car are on a low voltage circuit which controls the higher voltage-switches in the box 20,-so that the actual motor current does not flow thru the external operating switches. Referringsnow to Fig.

6, the"line"currentpassesthru the transformer thus reducing the voltage for the use of the external control switches 36, 36',

36 etc,,which are located at various points convenient for operation. Any suitable type of control switch may beused, either operable -m'anually or by the weight or contact of the 'c'ar' itself going into or out of the garage,

and the particular structure of these switches "is'immaterialto the present invention. These switches 36, 36, etc., are arranged in parallel,

so' that'any one of them will close the secondary circuit, which includes the energia' ing-*coilfof-the relay switch 38. The low voltage circuit is therefore from the transformer '85,'wire 89, any one of '36, 36, 36", wire 40, energizing coil of the relay 's'witch 38, aIlCl wire 41 back to the tr:a-nsformer 35 i any one of the switehes36, 36, etc., 'isf closed,the relay .38is actuated, closing a switch 421which is in the primary or line voltage 'rnot'o'r circuit. This motor circuit may betracedfrom. the line thru the conductor 43 to the'relay switch 38-42,;then "around the energizing coil of the relay switch '3 8,'t-his coil being separate from the low voltage coildescrib'ed, but arranged so either or both 'coils can'operate the relay switch 138-42." tThef-cireuit passes thru the con-. d'u'ctor 44 to the reversing and circuit breakingswitch 45 which is operated by the trig- -ger 26 before mentioned. This switch 45 has two" positions, and is of the quick-break type, hat is, 'ger26 storesupj energy,- -usually in an intermediate spring, until at a certain position the switch 45 snaps from oneposition to the other, as is common practice with switches of llovolts orhighen' Inone position of passes thru the conductors 48, 47 andarma- "ture M in theopposite direction. '{Ihe field 7 circuit or the *motor M thru the conductor 49 is not reversed, though it is momentarily broken,*liketh e circuit thru the armature M,

one position to *the other. I

v The general operation is as follows :when anyone-of theswitches 36, 36, etc., is'closed 'thejrelay switch 38 42 is energized thru its 1 low voltage coil and closes the gradual action of the trigwhen -the switch 45 'is being thrownfrom' the switch 42 in the switches 5 which is turnedby the The ends of the chainbO are adjustably at-- massage the power circuit. I Inasmuch as the switch is already closed in one or the other of its positions the high voltage current im mediately flows thru the motor circuit and also thru the energizing coil of the relay 38, thus holding the switch 42 closed'even after the switch 36, 86, etc. is opened. This is desirable asthe switches 36, 36, 36, etc.,

are usually of the momentary cont-act self releasing type and are not held closed by the operatior for any great length of'tim'e.

Themotor M continues to run and the switch 42' continues closed, until when the door approaches the end of its travel, the trigger 26 is operated as has been described, and'the snap action of the switch 45-throws it to the other position. When the switch 45 is moving to its new position both the armature and the field'circuits of the motor are momentarily broken, thus'interru'pting all current flow in the relay 38, and opening the switch 42. In order to have positive assurance that the switch 42 will open when the; switch 45 is being thrown, an arm or cam 45' is attached to the switch 45 and a cooperating arm or cam follower 42 is attached to the switch 42, and arranged so that the arm 45' will strikethe arm 42 when the switch 45 is swinging thru its middle position and will knock the swtch 42 open. hen the switch 45 closes in its new position the circuit is open at the switch 42, and the motor M will step. In order to start the motor M again one ofthe'switches 36, 36, etc.,

' must be closed to initially energize the relay 38,-in which case the-motor M will run in the opposite direction,-owingv to the reversal of the switch connections 45.

From the operators standpoint, pressing a button opens the doors, which automatically stop when fully open; and another press of the button closes the doors automatically. In the foregoing the operators switches have been described as ina low voltage circuit, as is usually desirable, but of course the operators-switches may be directly connected to the-line voltage ifdesired.

If the door structure to be operated is of a very simple form,such as a straight door sliding or rolling sideways on a track, no

further mechanism is necessary for its op-- eration, beyond a simple chain attached to the door-51, as shown in Fig. 7, and ar ranged to mesh :with the pinion or sprocket motor mechanism.

tached to the door 5l by means of turnbuclrles 51, so that the preciselocation of the chain 50 can be adjusted after the door machine 1 is mountedin place, permitting an accurate running adjustmcnt between the stop mechanism and the door. -A similar mechanism maybe used with the overhead or rolling type ofdoor, a chain being preferably employed. In such cases the mechanism'merely'has to handle-a straight. pull. for a certain distance, back and forth, andzthexbrac'ket lv with its motor and gear mechanism can be located at any convenient point. along the line: of pull. Thecasesofi outward swinging doors, inwardswinging doors, and; jack-knife or. folding doors present greater difiiculty, especially as in the latter casevarying angular relations must :beconsidered. In such casesthe bracket 1 is usually'mounted over the center of'thedoor, bringing the mechanism fairly close to the front of the garage,andavoiding the special beams and mechanisms placed furtherbacln: If there are a pairof doorsfas is usually the case, the pinion- "5-is made double width, or in the form of a double pinion 5, 5, so asto accommodate a pair of door-operating rods and 60-", which-mesh with thepinions 5, 5, andare hel'd incontact therewith by the swivel guides 61 and '61 as shown in'Figs. l, 2, and 3. These guides6l and 61 are substantially triangular in form, having guide rollers 62 at two corners to prevent therods 60, 6Q from binding therein, and being pivotedat thethird corner around the vertical drive shaft 4, so that they will swing freely to whatever angle the 60, 60", assume, while always maintaining the rods in mesh with the pinions 5, 5".

These door operating rods 60, 60, are sup ported in the guides ported by b-eingattached atone end to the doors 3, 3 by thepins63, as shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 -With automatic swinging doors the pins 63 are located close to the free edge of the door, so as to" hold the doors with a maximum rigidity, and to allow a maximum travel of the, rods 60,v 60,in order to most effectively employ the motor 9; 7 When the doors are closed, the free ends of the door rods 60, 60 overhang in space, as the; two centers of support are then relatively close together. Under suchconditions the unsupported. portion of. the door rods is longer than the portion. supported between the guides 61, and pin 63, though if the -rods are very heavy additional supports may be used. In order that the door operating rods may be light, strong, rigid, and easy to manufacture, the construction shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3' may be used, in' which the rod 60 is made of a strip of metal bent into the form of a U channel, with holes 65 punched at intervals to-mesh with the teethof the pinion 5. The ends of the U, forming the straight edges'of' Fig. 8, insteadof being straighhthus pre parts of the doors venting interference with or otherstructures during theoperation of the doors.

supports required by door OPGIZLtlIlg rods 61, ;61 and also sup- I therods 60 may be curvedor It will-"be understood that the term rods is used hereinin a general sense to include both the straight and the curved side. of the worm wheel 7 or other suitable thrust bearing carried by the shaft 4.;

With outward swinging double doors 3, 3, the rods 60, 60 pass on. the sameside ofthe pinions 5, 5 as shown'in Fig. 1, sothat the rods move in general in the same direction. In the case of, inward swinging doors, and jack-knife or folding doors, which'willnow be described, the .rods 60, 60 pass in general on opposite sidesof the pinions 5, 5' so as to be movedinopposite directions 1 With jack-knife-or folding doors, such as shown in Fig.-g8, there are two distinct motions to be contended with, if a smooth and reliable action applicable generally to such doors is to be produced.v These doors are in sect-ions, 70, 71, each pair of sections hinged together as at 72, and supported by rollers 7 3 which run on a track 7 1 overheaoL- In Fig. 8 only one pair of thesesections is shown for the sake of clearness, but it willbe understood: that there is, generally anothersimilar pair 71. and its materon the other side of the pinion 5,;-in.other.words,. only half of the door opening is -shown.- The track 74; is usually substantially straight, though it may be curvedat the end near the main hinges 75 of the door. As the; doors 70, 71,; liein a straight line when closed, it is first necessary to break them, or tobend them into aV shape on the hinges 72, before a longitudinal force along the general direction of the track, or in the direction of the main hinges 75, will suifice to-force the doors along to a full open position. 7

To accomplish this motion of first breaking the doors, and then rolling them along their track, the operating rod60 is connected to the second or central leaf of the door 71 by means of a bracket having a roller cam slot or slots 81. The rod 60 is provided with a fork 82 carrying a cam. roller 83 adapted to move'in the slot 81 and also by means of the'same or corresponding rollers to move in the -fixed cam slot 84, which may be in a bracket 85' or other fixed element secured to the garage structure or tothe bracket 10f Fig. 2. While in the-preferred form-the fixed cam surfaces are-shown in the form of a slot 84, it will be understood that any other nearby surfaces having rection m'a-y be, utilized for example, by using a larger roller 83 the side ofthe track 7 4 or the lintel' of the door ma'y be. used as cam surfaceson which to rollthe cam roller The bracket 80 containingthe slot or slots 81, is bolted to the door 71, and either the In closing the pull of toggle; action or bending 'when closed, as well as to make them open tend-to carry the doors the same general-d1- be made with single-slots provided the beara ingfaces arelongand well supported.

In the operation of the folding doors, starting'from the closed position, the roller 83 attached tothe rod 60 is then at the end of the slot 81 nearest the driving pinion 5 of. the door operating machine.

the doors 70, -71 to break. atthe middle alongthe line vofthehinges72, assume a Vushapeas indicated in dotted lines,- and carry the line ofthrust of the rod 60 to the inside of the linev ofthemain hinges 75, after which the-continued motion of the rod 60 and roller Spressing against the other end of the slot 81 carries the doors onto their fully open position, as shown in full lines at the rightof Fig.8.

the rod 60 first causes the roller 83 to seek the end of the slot 81 nearest tothe pinion gear 5, and then draws the doors along to theirclosed position. As they approachthe closed position theroller- 83 enters the camslot 84:, which forces the; doors smoothly to afully closed position. The paths ofthe roller 83 opening and closing cross at acertain point, and the mouth ofthe cam slot8t may be located there to receive the roller. It is "sometimes desirable. to protect the doors against undue under wind stresses fully, and a spring 91 may be mounted between brackets 92 and 93 attached to and .extendingabove the tops of the doors 7 O, 71 respectively. The dead center of the action of the spring 91 occurs when the doors 70, -71 are inthe V position partly open; and once past that position thespring 91 will on to the fully open orv fully closed positions,and will thus serve .tohold the doors against bending when closed. The end of the slot 84 may also be made parallel tothe lintel for .a short distance, which willserve tosubstantially lock the door when closed, I p

In theforegoing there have been described various; illustrative forms of the invention, butit will be understood that these are merely by way of example, and that the invention is susceptible to various modifications and adaptationsin various installations without departing -from, the scope ofvthe invention as defined by the following. claims.

, The'initial motion of the rod 60 tends to push the cam roller 83 along the slots 81 and 8 1, exerting.

which tends to cause said rolling means,

- retain the actuating rods 1, In a door operating mechanism, the combination of an electric motor, means for controlling said motor, a reduction gearing driven by said motor, a plurality of doors,- a vertical drive shaft driven by said reduction gearing, a pair of actuating rods operatively connected to the doors at points more than half way out from the sides of the doorway, gear teeth attached to the vertical drive shaft, guides adapted to retain the actuating rods in mesh with said gear teeth, the rods being arranged so that when the doors are closed the rods will cross each other as viewed from above and the greater part of their length will overhang in a direction away from the doors.

2. In a door operating mechanism, the combination of an electric motor, means for controlling said motor, a reduction gearing driven by said motor, a plurality of doors, a

vertical drive shaft driven by said reduction gearing, a pair of actuating rods operatively connected to the doors, gear teeth attached to the vertical drive shaft, guides adapted to in mesh with said gear teeth, the rods being arranged so that when the doors are closed the rods will cross each other as viewed from above and will extend beyond the drive shaft for the greater part of their length in a direction away from the doors.

3. In a door operating mechanism, the combination of a drive'shaft having teeth attached thereto, means 'for operating said shaft, a plurality of doors, a pair of actuating rods operatively connected to the doors and meshing with the teeth on the drive shaft,

said rods being curved in the plane of their motion and being arranged so that they will cross each other as viewed from above when the doors are closed.

4. In a door operating mechanism, the

combination of a plurality of doors ina door- In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands this 19th day of December, 1927. FRANK L. 'MORSE. ROBERT V. MORSE.

way, a vertical drive shaft located near the middle of said doorway, means for driving said shaft, gear teeth attached to said shaft, actuating rods operatively attached to the doors and partially supported by their attachment thereto and adapted to mesh with the gear teeth, said rods being crossed as viewed from above when the doors are closed, guidesadapted to retain the actuating rods in mesh with the gear teeth and aid the door attachment in supporting the weight of the rods, and a thrust bearing collar on the shaft below the guides.

5. In a door operating mechanism, the combination of a track, a pair of doorshinged together and mounted to fold on each other, means supporting one of said doors on the track, said supporting means being adapted to roll along saidtrack as the doors fold, a bracket attached to the door supported by said bracket having a slot inclined in a direction that approaches 

